choose one due at the end of this novel

Directions: Choose one of the following topics and write an essay that analyzes Richard Wright’s Native Son. You do not need to answer all of the questions I posed for each topic. Use the questions as a starting point and develop your own thesis. If you have another topic you would like to write about that is not listed below, come talk to me. You may use your book, classroom notes, and reading logs to write the paper. Good luck!
3-4 pages, double-spaced
50 possible points


1. Throughout the novel, Bigger Thomas often describes himself as feeling trapped in a hopeless existence plagued by poverty and racism. How is Bigger confined in his daily existence, even before his arrest and trial? Is Bigger physically confined? Mentally confined? Emotionally confined? Socially confined? Could he escape these feelings of confinement? Does this sense of confinement affect his ultimate downfall? How so?


2. In the novel, Mr. and Mrs. Dalton, as well as their liberal and free-spirited daughter, Mary, and her Communist boyfriend, Jan, are all portrayed as being sympathetic to the oppression suffered by African Americans. Choose one or two of these characters and describe their views on race relations. How do these characters perpetuate racial stereotypes? How do they continue to exploit Blacks? Are subtle forms of racism just as harmful as more overt prejudices? How so?


3. Throughout the novel, Wright comments on the media, film industry, and other forms of popular culture during the 1930’s. How are African Americans portrayed in the media and in popular culture during the 1930’s? What effect do these images have on African Americans? Does the media and popular culture influence the way Bigger Thomas acts around White people? How so? How does the media influence Bigger’s trial?